Bentley postgame

Their only two losses in the last two years have come on the court at the MassMutual Center, in the birthplace of basketball, to a juggernaut Winona State program that will be appearing in its third straight national championship game on Saturday afternoon (CBS-TV, 2:30 p.m.)

The Bentley men's basketball team is a magnificent 66-2 the last two seasons. But on Thursday night, the Falcons were derailed for the second straight season, falling 86-75, to Winona in the NCAA Division 2 semifinals before a entertaining crowd of 4,019 in Springfield.

Winona took the lead for good, 56-54, on a three-pointer from the left corner by senior guard Quincy Henderson with 9:23 left on the way to its NCAA Division 2 record 37th win of the season.

The Warriors (37-1) charged back from a six-point halftime deficit (36-30), outscoring Bentley 56-39 in the final 20 minutes. Winona shot 61.5 percent from the floor, converted 18 of its 23 free-throw attempts and rode the talents of its three senior leaders: All-American forwards John Smith (8 of 12, 22 points) and Jonte Flowers (20 points, 8 rebounds), along Henderson (17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists).

The Warriors will play Augusta State (27-6) in Saturday's final.

Senior forward Nate Fritsch closed out his sensational career at Bentley (34-1) with an 18-point performance, junior Lew Finnegan collected 17, freshman Tommy Dowling delivered 15 and senior point Yusuf Abdul-Ali had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds, along with four assists.

Bentley coach Jay Lawson on the loss:
Offensively, they outplayed us in the second half. We shot 54 percent (from the floor) in the second half after shooting 52 percent in the first half. Opponents are averaging just 39 percent against all year and (Winona) shot 61.5 percent in the second half. We make a big deal in our program about free throws and their impact on the game. They ended with 28 free throws, 25 in the second half. It's tough to manage the game when they are shooting that well from the field and at the free-throw line.

On Winona's second-half comeback:
" ... They made the critical shots. Every moment that they needed a bucket, they made that shot. They deserve a lot of credit.

"We have a very good team. We have a team good enough to win the national championship. And we've only lost to one team in the last 68 games. They deserve a tremendous amount of credit because they didn't beat slouches today.

On his team's two-year run:
"Right at this moment, it's tough. I've been with this program for 23 years (17 years as head coach). For a long time, I was not so sure that a team from a (private) school like ours could win a national championship. But the last three years, I've felt that we could compete for one. Last year, was very magical. Who would have ever thought that we could do it again. We broke all kinds of records last year, and then did it again this year. .... This has been very, very special for all of us. I've been around the game a long time, and I know a lot of old people, my age, older, younger and all they do is complain about their college experience. These (players) won't have those kinds of memories. They'll appreciate it very, very much."

Bentley senior Nate Fritsch:
“Speaking on behalf of Yusuf (Abdul-Ali) and myself, we were incredibly lucky to be at Bentley. We were both recruited late, and to end up at a place like Bentley where the players care as much and the coaches kill themselves, I feel very lucky.”

Bentley senior Yusuf Abdul-Ali:
"The last two years have been great, we've won so many games. We lost to Winona the last two years. I'm not going to put my head down."

Winona coach Mike Leaf:
In the first half, Bentley did a great job. I thought we had a great defense. But they were really taking the ball to the basket. ... They were breaking us down. In the second half, we hit some really key shots, and were able to get that one- or two-point lead, and built it to five. It was back and forth. We hit a big 3 (Quincy Henderson).

"We really wanted to focus on getting the ball inside. We have one of the best players in the country (John Smith). And that opened it up for us outside. We were fortunate enough to win against a team that I really admire. It's a heck of streak that they've had. They are well-coached and disciplined, and nice gentlemen."